A Chinese Virtual Currency Challenges the Yuan

Radon360 writes "A Wall Street Journal article reports that China's fastest-rising currency isn't the yuan. It's the QQ coin — online play money created by marketers to sell such things as virtual flowers for instant-message buddies, cellphone ringtones and magical swords for online games. In recent weeks, the QQ coin's real-world value has risen as much as 70%. It's the most extreme case of a so-called virtual currency blurring the boundaries between the online and real worlds — and challenging legal limits. A Chinese Internet company called Tencent Holdings Ltd. designed the payment system in 2002 to allow its 233 million regular registered users to shop for treats in its virtual world. Virtual currencies are in use in many countries — but nowhere have they taken root more deeply than in China."

Comments

Re:You haven't been to Canada have you

[zappepcs]

Not sure why you got modded as Offtopic? As pointed out, all currency is basically virtual. If Canadian Tire opened a SecondLife store maybe you would have been modded up? I know a kid that bought his bicycle with Canadian Tire Dollars.

It is fact that in the U.S. just about anyone can print currency as long as it's in Dollar denominations and $1 of your dollars is valued/redeemed at $1 USD. The fact that the Federal version of the Dollar is the one most widely accepted doesn't mean that another currency can't be valuable.

I wonder what US courts will decide when it comes down to treating virtual currency in regard to actual currency. Should you be able to buy $200 worth of virtual currency for $20 USD? Or will it have to have a redemption value ratio of 1:1?

This is obviously not the case in China.

Re:tap the vein

[danpsmith]

converting real money to virtual money is a huge business. look at all the people spending $100 dollars for some World of Warcraft gold for their level 70 mount or whatever. there's a fine line between hobby and sickness.

What's hilarious is that after you buy it, it's still in the game which actually makes it property of Blizzard, residing on their servers. Wouldn't it be an interesting world if this took off and you don't even own your own money anymore, and essentially have to use "disney dollars" for purchases. A nice way to go back to the Erie Canal model. I'm not saying this is what's happening, but it's an interesting concept.